Story Courtesy: Brandon Collins, Athletics Communications
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M named 2021 SEC Coach of the Year Joni Taylor as the eighth women’s basketball head coach in program history, Director of Athletics Ross Bjork announced Wednesday.
Head Coach Joni Taylor:
“I am extremely excited and humbled to have the opportunity to lead the Texas A&M women’s basketball program. You are talking about a program that is rich with tradition and an institution that leads not only in the SEC, but in the country. I am excited to get there and meet the team and immerse myself and our family into Aggieland.
“I have known Coach Blair since I was a player at the University of Alabama and he was at Arkansas. The way he led young women on and off the court and was a steward of our game is something I have always admired. He created a National Championship program during his 19 years at A&M, to be able to continue that legacy is an honor. I am excited to have the opportunity to be around him, learn from him and for him to show me the way.
“I have always been struck by Ross’ [Bjork] enthusiasm for furthering women’s athletics. He has shown that he wants to be a change agent for our game. As I have gotten the chance to know him and Kristen [Brown] over this process, I have become so excited for the vision that they have for the athletics department and women’s basketball. There are a lot of great coaches in this business, for them to target me and say that I am the one they want to be the leader of this great program is incredibly humbling.”
Director of Athletics Ross Bjork:
“Texas A&M women’s basketball stands for excellence and integrity on and off the court. As we began our search to replace Coach Blair, it was so important that we found the right leader and person who would exemplify these same qualities and someone who understood what being an Aggie is all about. Our search included high-profile coaches from around the country and it was a competitive process until the very end.
“As the process evolved, and the more we got to know Coach Taylor, it became crystal clear that she is the right coach to lead our program into this new era of Aggie basketball. Her passion, energy, knowledge of the game, recruiting acumen, experience in the SEC and leadership in modern day college athletics are all the characteristics that make Coach Taylor the perfect fit for Texas A&M and our basketball program. We are so excited to welcome Coach Taylor, Darius, Jacie and Drew to Aggieland!”
Deputy Athletics Director Kristen Brown:
“This is a great day for Texas A&M University! As Ross and I searched the country to find our next leader, Joni Taylor immediately rose to the top of our list. Her vision for the program, the culture she plans to build and the core values she embodies are in perfect alignment with the vision we have for Texas A&M women’s basketball.
“Coach Taylor is a proven winner that knows how to recruit and develop talent. As a former student-athlete and coach in the league, she understands what it takes to be successful in the SEC, as well as on the national stage. She is well-respected and highly regarded throughout our industry. I am confident she will be an incredible leader for our young women and great representative of the university. We could not be more excited for the new era of Texas A&M women’s basketball, and we are thrilled to welcome Coach Taylor, her husband Darius and their daughters Jacie and Drew to Aggieland!”
About Coach Taylor
Taylor succeeds hall of famer Gary Blair and is inheriting a program that is one of eight schools in the past 20 years to have a national title. Over the past 19 seasons, the program won five conference titles and reached the NCAA Tournament 16 times.
The Meridian, Mississippi, native spent the first seven years of her head coaching career leading the Georgia women’s basketball program. She amassed 140 victories with a .651 winning percentage and 64 wins in SEC play. Taylor took the Lady Bulldogs to four NCAA Tournaments, including top-four seeds in 2018 and 2021.
Taylor was named the SEC Coach of the Year and a finalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year after leading her team to a 21-7 record and 10-5 ledger in SEC action in 2020-21. She was the youngest coach of the year honoree in the SEC since 2010. In 2021, Taylor led the Lady Bulldogs to the SEC Tournament Championship game for the first time since 2004. Taylor, and South Carolina’s Dawn Staley, became the first pair of African American female head coaches to coach against one another in the SEC Tournament title game.
She coached four players who were taken in the WNBA Draft, with Jenna Staiti and Que Morrison having an opportunity to add to that number this year’s draft. She mentored the program’s only three SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year selections (Marjorie Butler – 2016, Haley Clark – 2018, Mikayla Coombs – 2022). Taylor saw a Lady Bulldog featured on the conference all-defensive team in each of her seven years at the helm of Georgia, including Morrison, who earned three all-defensive selections and was the 2021 SEC Defensive Player of the Year. Taylor led 19 players to All-SEC selections during her run at Georgia.
Taylor is no stranger to succeeding legends. She served as an assistant from 2011-12 under women’s basketball hall of famer Andy Landers and was eventually elevated to associate head coach from 2012-15. After Landers’ retirement, Taylor took over the program as its second head coach in school history. Taylor went on to produce a 21-10 record in her first season as head coach and won the 2016 Maggie Dixon National Rookie Coach of the Year honor.
Before Georgia, Taylor served as an assistant coach at LSU (2010-11), Louisiana Tech (2005-07) and Troy (2002-05), and as an associate head coach at Alabama (2008-10) and Louisiana Tech (2007-08). At LSU and Alabama, Taylor helped recruit top-five prospects in 2010 and 2011, respectively. She carried that recruiting prowess into her career as a coach, where she signed three top-15 classes in the last four seasons, including the No. 7 signing class in 2022.
On the international level, Taylor served USA Basketball in 2018 (U18), 2021 (U19) and will be a court coach for the 2022 USA Basketball Women’s National Team training camp, which takes place March 30-April 2.
A four-year letterwinner at Alabama (1998-01), Taylor earned her bachelor’s degree in education in 2002. She helped lead the Crimson Tide to four postseason runs and recorded 716 points, 555 rebounds and 103 blocked shots, which ranks fourth in the Crimson Tide’s record book.
While at Alabama, she was recognized as one of the most influential African Americans on campus in 2001, earned three SEC Community Service honors (1999, 2000, 2001) and was awarded a post-graduate scholarship from the SEC.
The Meridian High School product was the 1997 Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year. She also won three state titles in track & field and was selected as the school’s Homecoming Queen.
Taylor and her husband Darius have two daughters, Jacie and Drew.
